Uber Jacks Up Prices 4 Times in Sydney During Hostage Situation

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One way to guarantee outrageously expensive Uber surge pricing? A hostage situation, apparently. The BBCreports that Uber’s algorithm raised prices to four times their normal rate as Sydney residents tried to flee the city’s central business district during an ongoing hostage negotiation at a nearby chocolateshop.

Upon learning the news, Twitter immediately erupted into outrage, accusing the admittedly pretty evil company of monetizing a hostage crisis. Uber managed to reverse the decision pretty quickly, offering free rides to some Sydney residents and refunding others. But some people still aren’t buyingit:

@Uber_Sydney soooo the idea is to charge more during a crisis and hope nobody notices, if they do reverse course and play nice? Got it. #ASS